Description
Marked presto con fuoco and reckoned the most ferocious of the twenty-four, this is the sixteenth of the 24 Preludes, Op. 28.
A heavy chordal introduction is cut off and the right hand launches a torrent of sixteenth notes that never stops, in B-flat minor and common time. The left hand drives it on with a leaping accompaniment. Nearly 1,200 notes fill seventy seconds across more than six octaves — very nearly the whole keyboard.
Even among advanced pieces the speed demanded here is high. Forced, the right-hand runs will stumble without fail: keep the hand low over the keys and leave the shifts of position to the arm. If the volume spikes on the left hand's leaps the whole thing turns noisy, so keep the bass deep and the chords light. Setting a tempo that holds to the last bar is what ends up sounding fastest.
A set of 24 short pieces Chopin composed in 1838-39, covering all 24 keys, each with its own distinct character — a poetic cycle for piano.
Browse all songs in 24 Preludes Op.28 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frederic Chopin was born in Poland and made his career in Paris, remaining unusual among great composers for writing almost exclusively for piano. He poured his longing for his homeland into mazurkas and polonaises, while his ballades and etudes combine poetic melody with harmonic innovation. This site includes the "Revolutionary" and other etudes, Ballades No. 1 and No. 4, nocturnes, and the Preludes, Op. 28.
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